Support for the special needs custodian took off on Facebook and YouTube, and by the time a school board meeting was held 900 parents with signs had jammed Wantagh High School’s auditorium in an emotional show of support, CBS 2’s Jennifer McLogan reported.

“He’s autistic. He didn’t mean what he was saying. He was venting, and by venting it gets out his anguish and helps him deal with …,” parent Patrick Ryder said, adding when asked if Turner deserves a second chance, “Absolutely.”

Other parents rallying around Turner said the district can use the incident as a teaching tool, a key to understanding autism and reaching out to bullies.

“This is now a great opportunity to step up and see where the system failed him and what we can accomplish with this,” Brenda St. John told McLogan.